The ongoing nine-day state visit of U.S. President Donald Trump was an opportunity to show once more that when it comes to the women close to his heart, standards are different. Trump criticized others in the past and now his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka are doing the same.
No head cover for FLOTUS
The New York Post reported that First Lady Melania Trump had a black pantsuit and black patent stilettos, a neck chain and a wide gold belt when she and the president arrived in Saudi Arabia. The first couple arrived aboard the presidential plane, the Air Force One.
While Islamic custom requires women, including visitors, to cover their hair, the FLOTUS did not. However, foreign dignitaries are not covered by the very strict dress code. Other high-level female visitors to the Middle Eastern Kingdom are exempt which explains why it is acceptable for Melania not to have a headscarf or hijab.
Likewise, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did the same when they visited Saudi Arabia. The previous FLOTUS, Michelle Obama, also had no cover when she and then President Barack Obama came to the country in 2015. However, at that time, Trump, who was still then a private citizen, criticized Michelle in a tweet for not wearing a scarf.
Trump then tweeted that many people commented it was wonderful that the president’s wife refused to wear a scarf in Saudi Arabia. He claimed the country was insulted and added the Obamas likely added more enemies for the U.S. which has its fair share of foes.
Ivanka’s pet project raises $100 million in pledges
Another Trump woman, daughter Ivanka, is also in the presidential first foreign trip.
The New York Daily News reported that the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia gave a $100 million pledge to Ivanka. She would use the money for her pet project, a fund for women entrepreneurs.
In another instance of having a different standard when it comes to his family members, it would be recalled that Trump criticized Hillary Clinton whose charity, the Clinton Foundation, received funds from Saudi Arabia during the campaign in 2016.
The real estate billionaire also sold the 45th floor of his Trump Tower to Saudi Arabia in June 2001 for $4.5 million. It was made up of five apartments that earned Trump a total of $5.7 million to include annual common charges of $85,585 for 15 years.
Ironically, Saudi Arabia is known for its unequal treatment of women, and Trump ranted in a June 2016 Facebook post that the money the Clinton Foundation received came from nations that treat women as slaves and kill gays. He then pushed Hillary to return all the money from the Mideast countries. Riyadh gave Clinton between $10 million and $25 million, or just a fraction of how much Ivanka’s fund would receive.
